INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH PROJECT
Purpose
This project will tie together each of the aspects developed in the course this semester.
Scenario: You have been given the assignment to research an information system and report back to your manager regarding its possibility for adoption. Analyze the system from this perspective.
This end-of-term report will be presented to the class. This report will cover one type of information system that is covered this semester. Each of your classmates will report on a different brand name system currently used in business today. You will have the opportunity to learn about many systems in use today and to gain some insight into the system that they have researched.
Here are some pages in our text that may be helpful:
Type of Information System    Function of Systems/Text Pages
Sales and Marketing
Transaction Processing Systems
Executive Support Systems
Enterprise Systems
Supply Chain Management Systems
Customer Relationship Management
Knowledge Management Systems
Project Due Date and Requirements
•    Projects must be word processed.
•    Begin with a cover page that includes the title of your paper, your name, and the date of the report.
•    Use a side heading for each section of the report. This helps me to identify that you have reported on all required topics.
•    Include a minimum of 10 resources that provided you with information about this system. Resources may consist of personal interviews, system documentation, newspaper, magazine, or journal articles, websites, etc. Personal interviews as a resource must include the person’s name, title, company, and date of interview.
•    Documentation supporting your analysis must be cited. Author/date format with a literature cited (bibliography) page is required.
•    Spelling and grammar should be thoroughly checked before submitting your work. Significant points are deducted for spelling/keyboarding and grammatical errors.
•    Reports must be double spaced using a 12-point font and 1″ (inch) side margins.
•    Reports should be a minimum of 5 pages in length NOT including the bibliography pages or appendices.
•    Excel spreadsheets, graphics, and other pictorial presentations will increase the value of your report and are strongly recommended.
•    Do not be tempted to copy and paste information directly from Websites. Doing this without providing proper citation is considered plagiarism and is grounds for receiving a 0 for the assignment and/or being reported for academic misconduct. See Computer Systems Department Academic Integrity Guidelines.
You must submit to me the name of the system that you will be researching (See Course Outline for Date).
Creating a Rating Scale
To create a rating scale for the technology you are researching, begin by determining some number of categories by which you will rate this system. Some example categories are: (1) ease of use, (2) available training, (3) cost effectiveness, (4) availability of customer service, etc. You can add additional categories based on your individual system.
Once you have the categories, score the system based upon your research. Scores should total 100. You may also use weightings if certain categories weight more or less in our scoring model. You should be able to justify your ratings.

Project Grading
Grading on this paper will be determined by the thoroughness and the detail you provide for the following topics (each worth 15-25 pts.):
1.    Technology background. Be sure to include as much information surrounding the technology being covered. For example, who uses this technology? How long has it been around? Is it proprietary? What does it cost to run? Provide some background on how the system works. Try your best to describe the system in detail. Show a screenshot of the system if you can! These are but a few questions and suggestions. Feel free to think of others. (25 pts)
2.    Describe in what industry this technology is used? If you are writing about a specific company, detail how that company uses the system. (10pts)
3.    Describe some pros and cons of this technology. Every technology has strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to detail at least 3 pros and 3 cons for your chosen technology. (10 pts)
4.    Recommendations for this technology and/or organizations implementing this technology. What are the implications for organizations wishing to adopt this technology? Will extensive training be required and how is this training accomplished? (5pts)
5.    Rate this technology. Generate an Overall Rating on a Scale of 0 to 100 and how you determined the score (your method). What criteria did you use and what aspects did you decide were more important regarding this technology? You must include at least 5 different items in your criteria (see above). (5 pts)
6.    Relate your paper to material and concepts from the textbook. You should use a minimum of 10 terms from the various chapters covered in this course. Place any new terms in italics. (10ptsvery important!)
7.    Organization of Material and Presentation as stated above (5 pts)
8.    Accuracy Strive for 0 keyboarding/spelling and grammatical errors. (10 pts)
9.    References-Be sure to cite your material! (10 pts)
10.    Presentation to Class: Proper Use of PowerPoint, Knowledge of Subject Matter, Error Free Slides (10 pts)